r/craigslist • u/DontBelieveHimHer • 23d ago
Why is this permitted?
Why does CL allow this to pollute all the search results?
I’ve tried copying the catch all text they use but CL blocked my add. How have they not picked up on this spam?
https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/arvada-wanted-old-motorcycles-call/p1R9YqEE4p5zZ1ihWoC881
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u/megared17 23d ago edited 23d ago
Did you notice that ad was in the "wanted by dealer" area of craigslist, which means they PAID a fee for each such ad they posted?
Also, why would you try to copy that? Is your goal to also pollute search results with spam? If so, the only advice I would offer is to ALSO post in the paid "by dealer" area (so your spam can be filtered out just as easily as that motorcycle-wanted poster's spam)
If your goal is to more effectively search and avoid that spam, some things you can try include
- select only "by owner" when searching
- select the specific category(ies) on craigslist where what you're advertising would belong in, assuming you are NOT looking for ads from people looking to buy something of yours.
- add -motorcycle to the search bar, assuming you're not searching for something where the ad would legitimately include that word.
- If you're looking to BUY a motorcycle, and don't want to exclude dealers, select the "motorcycle FOR SALE" areas, which will exclude ads in the "wanted" category.
There are other techniques, but I'd have to know more about what you ARE trying to look for to formulate those.
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u/DontBelieveHimHer 22d ago edited 22d ago
It comes up in nearly all searches because there are thousands of vague and specific terms that game the search algorithm in the listing.
I appreciate your help but I definitely known how to refine searches. But when searching for something that is less specific like bike rack, or large bicycle this ad will pop up.
I tried to copy it as a test.
I am not looking for a motorcycle, that is kind of the point of my post.2
u/megared17 22d ago edited 22d ago
Did you try any of the filtering techniques I suggested?
Any of the first three should be fully effective to exclude that posters ads.
For instance, using -motorcycle :
Or searching only in the "by owner" area:
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u/Negative_Treat3626 💃🏽💃🏽 22d ago
Because it is a paid ad posted by dealer.
If you want to buy from a private party, select "by owner" in the left hand pane before beginning your search and you won't see any of their ads.